Shoe last



July 27, 1954 H. G. cLAuslNG SHOE LAST Filed July 25, 1952 Patented July 27, 1954 UNITED STATES ATENT OFFICE SHOE LAST Henry G. Clausing, Portsmouth, Ohio, assignor to Vulcan Corporation, Portsmouth, Ohio 2 Claims.

The present invention pertains to shoe lasts and is particularly directed to the type in which the link connected fore and heel parts are collapsed by upward movement of the forward portion of the heel part relative to the forepart; the principal object of the invention being to provide a new and improved last part latch contained means for said type of last which positively limits the opening or breaking movement of the last parts beyond a predetermined last collapsed position to prevent damage to the said forward portion of the heel part by precluding bodily contact of the last part connecting link with said heel portion during use of the last.

Another object of the invention is to provide a novel last latch release means comprising a lever pivotally mounted in the forepart and extensible from the upper end of the last when the last is in locked, expanded condition, and which is released therefrom by contact with a suitable tool, collapsing movement of the lever carrying it within the body of the heel part for protected, unobstructed movement toward and into its last collapsed position.

A further object of the invention is to provide the heel part of a last with a fixed catch plate provided with a notch which cooperates with a latch lever pivoted on the forepart of the last to limit the opening or breaking movement of the last parts beyond a denite, last collapsed position, whereby a simplified last part limiting stop is provided for the usual slip last.

Other objects of the invention can be best understood and appreciated from the following description taken in conjunction with the accome panyin-g drawings in which:

Fig. l is an elevational view of a shoe last, parts thereof being broken away to disclose the last latch parts.

Fig. 2 is a fragmental view similar to that shown in Fig. l, the last being illustrated in its collapsed position upon a jack post preliminary to fitting a shoe upper thereon.

Fig. 3 is a section taken on line 3-3 of Fig. 1.

Fig. 4 is a section taken on line 4--4 of Fig. l.

The last shown in the drawings comprises a heel part 'I and a forepart 8 connected together for relative swinging movements from collapsed to expanded conditions and return by a link arrangement 9. The meeting faces between the last parts are made by an arcuate saw out I 0 and an arcuate saw cut I I offset forwardly of the saw cut IIJ to provide cooperative shoulders I2-I2 therebetween for maintaining the last parts in expanded positions. When the last is collapsed the lower forward portion I3 of the heel part 6 will move upwardly with respect to the iorepart as the last parts swing around the link arrangement 9 from the last extended position shown in Fig. 1 to a last collapsed position illustrated in Fig. 2.

The last part connecting, link arrangement comprises two laterally spaced and arcuately shaped plates III- I4 which are pivotally anchored in the forepart on a common, transverse pin I5 and are pivotally secured to the heel part upon a transverse anchor pin I5.

The new and improved last part latch which limits opening movement of the last parts beyond a predetermined last collapsed position is of the type provided for the Shoe Last disclosed in my copending application, Serial No. 238,053 filed July 23, 1951, now Patent No. 2,622,253, and comprises an upstanding catch plate Il fixed at its lower end to the pin IB between the ends of links lil-I4, and secured against movement in the heel part by a second transverse pin I8 anchored in the body of the heel part and passing through an intermediate portion of the plate. rlhe upper end of the catch plate extends beyond the body of the heel part and is formed with a suitable tool engaging eye I9. A latch lever 20 is pivotally mounted in the forepart 8 on the anchor pin I5 and between the ends of the links I d-M, the upper end of the lever projecting beyond the body and the forepart and provided with a rearwardly extending lug 2I which in last extended position engages a first catch notch 22 formed in the upper forward edge of the catch plate Il. 'Ihe lever is yieldably urged against the forward edge 28 of the catch plate by means of an expansile spring 23 located in a bore 24 formed in the forepart, the spring acting against the forward edge of the lever 20 and retained in the bore by a suitable wood plug 25. It will therefore be understood that the last latch is contained in narrow communicating routs 26 and 2l formed in the heel and toe parts respectively and that the lever 20 and the catch plate Il are spaced from the major faces of the routs by the links I4.

The forward link engaging edge 28 of the catch plate is also provided with a second notch catch 29 interposed substantially midway between the rst notch 22 and the plate anchor pin I6, the exact location of the second notch 29 being such that the lug 2l on the lever 20 will engage it and positively stop the collapsing movement of the last parts before the bottom edge of the link arrangement 9 can come in contact with the lower forward portion i3 of the heel part. The last part limiting action of the second notch 29 is useful in limiting the collapsing movement of the last parts beyond a predetermined limit during delasting of a shoe upper and is particularly useful for the protection of the heel part against damage when a'shoe upper is being fitted on the collapsed last preliminary to the shoe lasting operation. The fitting position of the last is best shown in Fig. 2 and it will be appreciated with reference thereto that the heel part l has the usual jack post thimble 3@ which is xed upon a last jack itil and that the toe part is then inserted into the toe of a shoe upper to be lasted,

said upper being quite frequently pulled with considerable force onto the forepart before the heel part of the last can be inserted in the shoe upper for expansion of the upper into shoe lasting condition. Frequent pulling of the shoe upper onto the forepart has torn away the wood i of the heel part at the base of the rout in the portion i3 as that was the portion which had contacted the last link to limit the collapsed position of conventional slip lasts. VMy catch 29 limits the upward movement of the forward portion i3 of the heel part beyond the predetermined position of the parts shown in Fig. 2 where the links li-ld stop short of, and are spaced from the heel part portion i3 thus protecting the body of the heel part from damaging contact with the link arrangement i4.

When the last is in its fully extended position it will be seen that the latch rmly holds the last parts l and 8 together with their meeting surfaces in face-to-face contact, the exposed lug 2i on the latch lever 2i) being in close, longitudinally spaced relation with respect to the eye E9 in the catch plate Il. To release the last latch it is only necessary to engage the eye i5 around an upstanding pin 3l, such as that disclosed on the tool 32 illustrated in Fig. l. This tool may be suitably mounted on a work bench 33 by screws B, said tool having an upstanding cam plate 35 Xed to a side thereof adjacent the pin 3l. The last with a lasted shoe thereon may be released by inserting the pin Si in the eye i5 and then turning the last counterclockwise (Fig. l) until the plate 35 cams the lever 25 forwardly against the action of the spring 23 to release the lug 2l of the lever from the notch 22. Upon release of the latch under steady and equal outward pulling forces on the two last parts, the forepart will move outwardly with a short clock'- wise rotation whilst the heel part will pivot counterclockwise on the pivot pin 3i thus quickly collapsing the last by a natural pulling action, the follow through of the motions just described causing easy pulling of the shoe from the collapsed last. It will also be noted that collapsing movements of the last parts are limited by engagement of the lever lug 2l with the second notch 2S thus protecting the lower forward portion i3 of the heel part from damage from the link arrangement during the delasting or shoe pulling operation. Also upon release of the lug 2l from the first notch 22, the lug engages against the forward edge 28 of the catch plate il and as the last parts move toward collapsed positions the lug 2l moves down the edge 28 and into the confines of the rout 26 in the heel part for spring biased, unobstructed movement toward and into the second notch 29 which positively determines the collapsed positions of the last parts.

What is claimed is:

l. A shoe last comprising a forepart and a heel part each having two offset faces forming cooperative shoulders for maintaining the last parts in expanded positions and permitting collapse of tA e last by upward movement of the forward portion of the heel part relative to the forepart, communicating routs formed in the neel part and forepart, a link in the routs and having a pivot pin in the forepart and a pivot pin in the heel part, a heightwise catch plate fixedly mounted in the rout in the heel part and having a tool engaging eyeY on its upper end, said plate having a pair of vertically spaced upwardly facing notches formed in its forward edge, a latch lever pivotally mounted in the rout in the forepart and having a rearwardly extending catch plate engaging lug formed on its upper end, said lug being positioned in close juxtaposition with the eye when the lug is in operative engagement with the uppermost catch plate notch, and means in the forepart for biasing the lug on the lever into contact with the forward edge of the catch plate whereby engagement of the lug in the uppermost notch maintains the last parts in expanded conu dition whilst engagement of the lug on the lever with the lowermost notch limits the upward movement of the forward portion of the heel part beyond a predetermined collapsed position.

2. A shoe last according to claim 1 characized by the fact that the tool engaging eye projects upwardly beyond the body of the last, and the eye opening is formed laterally through the catch plate.

No references cited. 

